Today at gamescom, the world’s largest trade fair and event for interactive games and entertainment, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announced that episodic, story-driven Campaign Missions are in development for Command & Conquer™ and will be available early next year. The next installment of the award-winning real-time strategy franchise from Victory Gameswill launch in 2013 as a free live service*, with an emphasis on continually adding new content to the game, such as Campaign Missions, based on fan feedback.

“When we talk about the new Command & Conquer being a service, we’re really inviting the community to help drive the design process and the evolution of the game,” said Jon Van Caneghem, Vice President and General Manager, EA. “Since our announcement, the number one thing fans have asked for is new story content, and we listened. We are excited to be delivering compelling, high quality Campaign Missions that will roll out to the service in 2014.”

The first Campaign Missions will follow the Asia-Pacific Alliance (APA), as they attempt to stabilize a world that once again teeters on the brink of war. Having sat comfortably as the world’s foremost geopolitical power for nearly a decade, the APA finds itself challenged on all fronts. The upstart European Union (EU), a high-tech, single-state entity with an increasingly expansionist agenda continues to flex her muscles, while a series of increasingly bloody uprisings have torn key APA and EU satellite nations asunder. Rumors point to a newly reconstituted Global Liberation Army (GLA) as the instigator, but witnesses have described technology far beyond the reach of any normal terrorist organization. Concerned, the APA dispatches an elite force to infiltrate the latest, most volatile rebellion, one targeting an EU backed dictator. Their mission – learn the truth about the GLA, undermine the EU and restore peace to the globe.

Command & Conquer is redefining RTS gaming for the next generation, amplifying classic gameplay elements for a new era of PC gaming and giving players more control than they have ever had before. From choosing from a variety of generals that match different play styles, to introducing new modes never before seen in the genre including Onslaught, an objective based co-op mode where players team up to defend their base from enemy hordes, and with the addition of story-driven Campaign Missions, gamers of all styles and skill levels will have more ways to play than ever before.

Command & Conquer will be available as a free, live service for the PC later in 2013.